Free Infographic Tools

Attributed to Mark Twain via Benjamin Disraeli The phrase takes a life of its own with Visual Infographics that almost any marketer can use due to the number of tools that are out there in the marketplace today.

I am a fan of a picture tells the story much better than words but this is no more important than when one looks at infographics. My fave Web 2.0 communicator @AmberMac just did a great post on Fast Company on a feature that i would encourage you to bookmark or subscribe to just because of the quality of the content. It discusses Infographics and follows on an interview with Nicholas Felton

AmberMac – Thoughtfullness and Prolific Valuable Content

I don’t miss an item that this prolific author and speaker produces because of the tremendous value she delivers. And delivers, and delivers. She has a bestselling book that came out last summer Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business as well as produces a technology column for Toronto’s Globe and Mail, has a video podcast Command-N she hosts which is now into over 230 episodes with her brother Jeff MacArthur produced and shot by fiancee Christopher Dick.

If that were not enough you can also find her on Twit.Tv weekly with Sarah Lane on The Social Hour as well as Canadian television show Webnation and a commentator on Canada’s CTV Television network. Add on that she is a mother of a toddler and a sought after consultant with her firm mgimedia.ca and keynote speaker around the world and she is a busy,busy person.

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I am an unabashed fanboy but herein I sense is the real magic that I appreciate so much about Amber. She so willingly shares this information to assist others to grow and succeed in all of her forums.

Having just listened to Mitch Joel, on his Six Pixels of Separation podcast with Tim Sanders, author of Today We Are Rich: Harnessing the Power of Total Confidence while just having read the latest effort from Seth Godin’s Domino project the book,Do the Work” by Steven Pressfield which helps people get it going and moves them, I think of this sharing culture I see out there and encourage readers to embrace it as one of the new pathways to contemporary lifelong learning.

Who knows what you might be able to convey using some of the new infographic tools.

Power Friending is reviewed by ReadItforme Channel on You Tube:Business Book Summaries

“To find more out about these Business Book Summaries and ReadItFor.Me Channel go to: Polar Unlimited and visit Steve Cunningham.
If you like this idea check out this great offer they have for ReadItFor Me Pro ”

I came across the above video in my daily scans. It is a book trailer on You Tube Channel by ReadItFor.Me, a digital review and book summary site by the Burlington based digital media agency Polar Unlimited for my friend AmberMac and her new book Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business

These guys are specialists at Digital marketing and it shows and is instructive to all you internet marketers and authors out there . So why do I think that ? Let’s look at it above, then on their site

1. I can have all my senses stimulated at the same time by watching the cute You Tube Video show in that I see it, I hear the music and the visuals are captivating almost as obviously as Amber Mac and the book.

2. It tells me the story of the book in a scintillating way that is not commercial but very entertaining.

3. It then makes me curious about who has made this and lures me to find out who these characters are. I know Amber Mac and this fantastic book very well. I want to know more about Readitforme and Polar Unlimited

4 When I get to their site it is very well laid out and appealling and the ReadItFor.Me idea is upon the navigation bar.

5. I then look on the right hand side and I am being offered two things of value. The first that catches my eye is a free digital health check, the second is an extension of what drew me in and that is a Free offer for a ReadItFor.Me Pro subscription which has a description of what I will get . Imagine the simplest “Vayniac”* not finding the summary on Crush It! not valuable.

6. I see the Business Summaries slow pitched a little differently right below. I am enticed further into their web by inviting me to subscribe with my email and get on their list, so I can benefit from further conversations about cool topics by interesting guys and gain a chance to win something like a book from one if these authors. They now will talk to me weekly about new books and ideas

7. I see massive social proof in the form of Client Lists and Portfolios. I also see exclusivity in their speaking engagements as they appear only for C-Suite types.

8. I am reinforced more in that they also offer webinars on a regular basis where I can probably get to know them like them and trust them more. I have been given three opportunities three different ways to engage in addition to the Videos.

And on their main page their depth of knowledge, a team with young and older folks, is demonstrated by their own promo video.

These guys have a crystal clear understanding of the conversations that you need to engage in with your customers, your viewers and your market and do so in a digital form.

Are you using these kinds of tools and tactics on your website ?

Are people lured in and fascinated? Ask yourself if you have mastered the 8 items above. Are you capturing visitors and getting them on your list with an opt-in form. Are you using your autoresponder to continue the conversation. I use Aweber as my autoresponder due to their excellent deliverability rates and statistical capabilities. They have excellent customer service and training.

Are you offering an ethical bribe to encourage subscribers to engage with you? Are you using video on your site to have the conversations that will build your relationships? If you are not you are missing some valuable opportunities.

Are you using free web “what” analytics tools to measure activity on your site? Are you capturing the “why” analytics that give you the the Primary Purpose of Visit, The Task Completion rate, and the Voice of the Customer ?

I welcome your comments. Come back and visit and I will outline these steps for you in greater detail here on the blog.

* Vaniac: A devotee to the Crush It! author, and internet cyber-Wine Guy Gary Vaynerchuk.

In order to make your presentations interesting and useful use the following roadmap and you should have success. It does not matter if you do powerpoint like slides or video or you are conducting a teleseminar, the important thing is that people are listening or watching you and what you have to say. Be careful you do not use all sorts of technology tricks in your presentations. You want people to remember your message versus the medium or delivery.

1. When you start define and set the expectations for your audience in your Introduction.
2. Tell them who you are and why they should listen to you and what you have to offer. Give them a brief biography and highlight what you have achieved and how you can help them with their issues.
3. Immediately build your value proposition in their eyes by telling them what you are going to cover and how you are going to do it.
4. Present your material at a fairly quick pace so you can be interesting but not tedious or boring. Provide all forms of communication, oral, written and a combination of oral,written and visual. Be direct and avoid all sorts of fancy transitions and tech tricks. They take away and diminish your content
5. Summarize what you have just presented in point form to reinforce them in your delivery and content
6. Give them the next step for them to act upon your information. Ask for the order. Tell them exactly what to do. If you want them to go to the back of the room at a live presentation tell them what awaits them and how they can get your product or service now. If they are on the web provide them a simple shopping cart or order button that allows them to order then and now and highlight it with arrows pointing to the desired action button. Thank them for taking action.
7. Leave them with some parting words that reinforcc the action you are asking them to take and the benefits that will accrue to them upon purchase. Without sounding like a Veg-O-Matic  salesman on TV Infomercials with the “But Wait” paragraph, repeat  the  value  stack of what they will get for taking the action and what bonuses will accrue for fast action.

If you do this and use bullets in your slides or presentation, avoiding long sentences on screen you will entertain, educate  and make sales. If not you could bore your audience and yourself. Be lively and have fun. It will show your expertise and value.

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Podcasting is one of the most democratic and effective of the new media tools that allows you to get your message or point of view across to a wide audience. The ability to project your message to anyone,anywhere at anytime on the device of their choosing has lead to explosive growth in new media. This is so much so that established media outlets are porting their offerings from TV and radio to the podcast world.

Often thought of as personal broadcasting many podcasters make a healthy income at podcasting either in traditional audio podcasts or in the now popular video podcasts. The market has grown exponentially from the early adopters in the geek world to many of the top marketers in the world. One of the contributing factors to this has been the growth of computer notebooks and personal music players such as the Ipod and the Zune. This seismographic shift in the delivery of music from records to cd’s and online music aggregators and sellers such as Apple’s Itunes. The other major delivery channel is the Smartphone like the Iphone, the Blackberry, Android and HTC products and now the Ipad tablet device from Apple.

Professionals, and small businesses are extending their reach into their own community on their areas of expertise. This proliferation allows you to connect by video or voice in a way that has just not been possible in prior years. There are podcasts on gardening,child-rearing,sex,relationships,health and thousands of other niche and microniche subjects.

Education is also possible through the Open University, MIT,Stanford, professional organizations and a host of world class institutions for the taking. The opportunities are unlimited and open to anyone with a microphone, computer, and software program to record,edit and produce podcasts.

With this wide exposure to new media ,effective training is available for all who want free and paid content. For example Apple users have access to extensive information on the Apple Itunes site and through free videos sponsored by Apple.I would encourage you to take some training in this area as I have through Paul Colligan of Colligan.com to speed up your success in this new medium. Paul will be hosting a Free Teleclass this week and I encourage you to listen in to discover the mistakes that people make and how to avoid them to ensure success and an income. You can register at Free Teleclass for the event which will be live on June 3 or get access to the archived class delivered through podcasting.

Related Blogs

• Personal soundtracks to war | Special Reports | PRI's The World
• ExtensionFM turns Chrome into your personal music library.
• New Media Tools, Old Brain | tedbilich.com

I was struck by the new way music is being presented on the Web and the new model of distribution. This young woman’s work is innovative in the visual sense as well as the instruments and aural enjoyment.

"Saviour" Music Video

Lights is a Toronto-based musician who has a wonderful sound and is also one savvy Web 2.0 marketer who engages and interacts with her fans in person as well as on the Web. She uses a full arsenal of Web 2.0 tools to reinforce her brand. While she may appeal to a younger demographic she has a wide range of talents; songwriter,designer,animator and musician. I predict she will be one of the great crossover artists from techno-pop to pop to easy listening.

She doesn’t rely on a whole group of handlers and intermediaries like some musicians have done and ceates the web work herself. A talented artist she expresses herself directly and personally to her fans via her community, her blog and YouTube Channel. She uses the interactivity of a Web 2.0 property to the fullest as a brand and is one savvy marketer.She has a refreshing view on her music on her about me page on My
Space. “. When I write songs I think about how my music makes people feel, and I hope that when it goes into your ears you feel happy. Not sexy happy but apple pie happy. If I’m sad then the last thing I want is to be made even more sad by music”. Lights real name is Lights Poxleitner an is a 22 year old Toronto resident.

Her sense of give back is also very apparent in her support and song for Toronto based charity, Skate4Cancer where she recorded a song for them “Year of the Cure”.

Pure enjoyment.

Related Blogs

• Stream Brown Sugar Movie Online « jaylen9319433
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• How to configure your WordPress blog? « savvymarketingsecrets/blog

You’ll need to be equipped with a good amount of information in order to attain the market share for your ebooks on the web. Wouldn’t you be happy to experience cash flow, produced by your own published ebooks? How can you get there? How can you write the best ebooks?

How can you get your ebooks converted to a digital format? Using the market to get you financial support through your sales sounds great doesn’t it. The most valuable way to go, would be through the use of Publishing Tools. Publishing tools will make this task much easier.
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A great source of training on writing and marketing ebooks is prolific writer Connie Ragen Green . Connie’s program Online Writing Success is a godsend to new writers and authors who want to make income from their work. She can be found on Twitter ConnieGreen and on her blog EBookWritingandMarketingSecrets .
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The self-publishing of ebooks will aid in increased cash flow and independence. It has accelerated at a fast pace on the Net in previous years and does not show any symptoms of getting its pace reduced. The steps you take for capitalizing on the ebook publishing tools will help in:

A professional edge.

Raising your income flow

Pushing business in your direction

Having your clients always wanting more

Providing individual independence

Immediate availability

Use of the Internet market. Immediately!

You can become your own boss in this case, owing to the lower publishing costs that come with these tools. The profits are high with no agent or publisher to share them with and this safeguards the pressure on your resources. You are the sole controller of your graphics and the ebook content.

With your current ebooks, you will have access to a wide variety of publishing tools like Adobe Acrobat, and Flip Album. These help in publishing your ebooks in a digital format. Others would include ebook covers, clip art, and ebook security.

I was interviewed by Connie Green last Thursday about my experiences with PodcastSecrets. Our call went for about an hour and is posted below for you to listen to.

The replay is at http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=6819213 and the direct link is http://budurl.com/pcpodcast

The noise you can here in the background is a brisk wind. If you want to know more about Podcast Secrets and the Preview Call you can go here:

Podcast Secrets 2009

Podcast Secrets 2009 will start on April 22, 2009. i was a student in 2008 and was a finalist in the Podcast Secrets Contest for beginners. That was a great challenge for me, and I know you would benefit from the program if you wish to improve your skills and monetize your podcasts. I hope you will all be on the Preview Call on April 2009. Here is what you will find:

In just two hours, Alex and Paul promise to teach you:

* Exactly 8 reasons why Podcasting brings them, and can bring you, a critical business (and profit) advantage.

* 7 secrets to producing profitable Podcasting content in the fastest possible time.

* 9 marketing channels for the Podcasters … and how to leverage each one.

* The 6-Step Podcast Monetization Roadmap

* How to part-the-curtain on the listening habits of your audience, and leverage that knowledge to produce profitable audience action.

* At least 5 things, you can implement today that will integrate your Podcast content into your business structure … and how to see results almost instantly.

* 7 steps to getting your Podcast audience to take the very actions you want them to take.

Here is a short video from Podcast Secrets:

Sign up for the preview call by visiting Podcast Secrets Call

Here is a new concept from a company called overlay.tv. They are an Ottawa based technology firm that presents you a number of opportunities to make money online through overlays on your videos.They are easy to do and can be put up on the web in a matter of minutes.

Watch the video below with @Ijustine and click on the logo in Justine’s hand to take you to PPC Classroom 2.0 By the way did I mention that Anik and Amit are offering PPC Clasroom 2.0 for F.R.E.E.

I just got a Tweet on Twitter from a @shermanhu who was Retweeting @markshaw tweet which suggested that this post by Gary Kawasaki was a excellent primer on Twitter for those of you who may not have heard about it. I can’t imagine there are many of you but here it is. How-To-Use-Twitter-As-A-Twool. It was represented into a visual blog post by the good folks at Viz-Edu . Sandeep Arora @SandeepVizEdu has done a good job at answering for those of us who are visual learners.